August b



A. B. PETERSON.

TOWEL HOLDER AND DISPENSER. APPLICATION FILED rzazs, 1919.

1,804,595. Patented May 27, 1919.

UNITED STATES I PATENT orr cn.

AUGUST 3. PETERSON, or NEW YORK, N. Y

I TOWEL HOLDER AND DISPENSER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 27, 1919;

Application filed February 26. 1919. Serial No. 279,278.

provide such a device which will intermit: tently feed Successive portions of a towel for use by different persons through the employment of novel mechanism extremely simple in its construction and eflicientin its operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character specified which will efiiciently houseboth the used and unused portions of the towel in public places by ineans which may be supported on a wall or stand.

In speaking generally, th invention embodies a casing or holder provided 1n lts upper portion with a reel adapted to contaln the unused portion of the towel and at its lower portion with a receptacle for containing the used portion thereof. The front of the casing is open to allow of ready access to the towel and the towel is fed from the outer to the lower portion of the table apast the open front by means of improved mechanism of extremely simple and efficient con-. struction. Features of the invention other than those specified will be apparent from the hereinafter detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated one practical embodiment of the invention, but the construction therein shown is to be understood as illustrative only and not as defining the limits of the invention.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the device of th present invention:

Fig. 2 is a sectional perspective through the device. l-

Figs. 3 and 4 are detail perspectives of the certain towel advancing means which I employ; and

Fig. 5 is a detail perspective of one of the mountings by which the reel, which carries the towcl. is supported.

Referring to the drawings, A designates a casing provided with a closed upper portion a in which the unused portion of the towel B is housed, the lower portion-a in the form of a receptacle," in which the used portions of the towel are dispensed, and anintermediate open portion a through which free access to the towel may be-had.

The .towel B is rolled on a fiat reel-D here shown as constructed from a piece of board .provided at its opposite ends with trunnions d d. The bearings cl (1 may be driven into the reel or secured in any convenient manner thereto but, as here shown, they are mounted on metal plates D- D which are in turn secured to the reel. The trunnion d is adapted to fit into anapertured bearing a secured to one end of the casing and the trunnion c is adapted to detachably cooperate with a bearing 6 (see Fig. 5) which is secured at the opposite end of the casing. The said 'trunnions and bearings constitute a detachable support for the reel to allow ofreplacement of a .full reel of clean towel ing when the reel in the casing has been used' up.

It will be noted that the trunnions d and d are positioned in the medium line of the reel but on the end of said reel to which the trunnion' d is attached are fixed two stop pins f f, the function of which is to control the feed of the towel through the cooperation with said pins of stop and release means mounted on the ,end of the casing.

This stop and release means as shown in Figs. 3 and 4 embodies a plate G which is mounted for sliding movement interiorly of. and on the-endwall of the casing by means of screws'g passing through slots 9' in the plate and, secured to the plate is a push rod H which extendsthrough the wall of the casing and has aflixed to the outer end thereof, a push button it by means of which the plate may be actuated. The spring I serves to normally force the push button to its foremost point of travel as limited by the slots 9 into the osition shown in Figs. 2

and 3 wherein t e shoulder J formed onv plate G in the form of a flange, lies inthe path of travel of the ins 7 f. This is a normal position of the parts with the reel lying in a horizontal plane as shown in Fig. 2 and the towel hanging in the forward edge of the reel across the open portion of the casing with the used portions of said towel deposited .in the bottom of the casing.

If it be assumed that the part of the towel hanging across the open front has been used and another person comes along and wants to use the towel, all that he is required to do is to force in the push button it against the tension of spring I. This will serve to slide plate Gr toa position which will carry the shoulder J out of the path of travel of the pin 7" and simultaneously force an inclined face J against the pin f. The releasing of the pin and its engagement therewith by the inclined face of the plate G is practically simultaneous sothat as soon as the pin is released it is given a downward kick by the inclined face. This downward kick will serve to rotate the reel D and such rotation will be accelerated by the weight of the towel hanging from the forward edge thereof. When the reel is released as described by disengagement ofthe pin f, it will make one-half revolution before the pin f comes into engagement with the plate. It the push button has been held in, the pin f will engage with the top edge of the plate G, above the inclined surface, but if the plate has been released, the pin f will engage directly with the shoulder J. In either instance continued rotation of the reel is precluded since it will be noted that the inclined face projects over the forward edge of the shoulder J and, should the push button It be held in, as soon as it is released, the plate G will be forced forwardly by the spring I and the "pin f W111 fall on the shoulder J.

It thus appears that while gravity is utilized to facilitate the rotation of the reel for dispensing the towel, that the operation of the reel is not entirely dependent upon the force of gravity since the inclined face J mechanically gives the reel a rotative impulse at the same time said reel is released for rotation.

' In practice the reel is made of sufiicient width so'that one-half rotation thereof will dispense the quantity of towel desired for a single use and accordingly two stops f f, if only one stop were used a complete rotation and over operation ofthe push button would result and just double the amount of towel would be dispensed ateach operation. This construction might be well in small devices since the width of the reel could be reduced accordingly but for general applie cation I prefer to use two stops and rotate the reel one-half revolution at each operation.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent .is:

, 1. A towel holder and dispenser embodywsemwhw... H.

ing a casing provided with an opening at the front thereof, a towel reel mounted for rotation in the upper portion of the casing and adapted to dispense portions of the towel and pass the opening front thereof to be dispensed in the lower portion of the casing, and means, normally holding the reel in check, but operable to release said simultaneously imparting thereto rotative impetus through a predetermined angle of rotation and thereafter arresting the movement of said reel for the purpose of manually controlling the intermittent feed 'of towel from the reel.

3. A towel holder and dispenser embodying the towel reel mounted for rotation within the casing, complementary stop means moimted on the casing and reel, for normally maintaining the reel in check,

Y means for manually shifting the stop means on the casing free from operative relation with the sto means on the reel, means also associated w1th manually operative means for imparting rotative impulse tothe reel simultaneously with the releasing of the reel for rotation.

4'. A towel holder and dispenser embodying the casing, a towel reel mounted for rotation within said casing, a stop pin projecting from one end of the towel reel, a

plate mounted for sliding movement on the interior of the casing having formed thereon adjacent portions adapted to cooperate with the stop pin of the reel for successively re leasing the pin and imparting therethrough rotative impetus to the reel, means for normally maintaining that portion of theplate for holding the reel in check in engagement with the stop pin reel, a manually operable means for actuating said plate to advance the reel.

In testimony whereof I have signedmy name to this'specification.

AUGUST B. rnrnnsou. 

